A New World of Light

The first successful experiment to measure the speed of light occurred 120 years ago in November of 1877. The Michelson-Morley experiment, one of the most important and famous experiments in the history of physics, was performed in 1887 by Albert Michelson and Edward Morley at what is now Case Western Reserve University.

It is generally considered to be the first strong evidence against the theory of a luminiferous aether that postulated that light needed a medium in which to travel. The experiment also demonstrated that the speed of light is independent of motion.

The experiment has also been referred to as "the kicking-off point for the theoretical aspects of the Second Scientific Revolution." For this work, Albert Michelson was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1907.

The revolutionary Michelson-Morley experiment has led to a new world of light that impacts every facet of our lives today, and promises to deliver even more wonders in the future. Teachers can use this beginning of the Second Scientific Revolution to motivate students to learn more about the fantastic world of light.

To help teachers assign inquiry-based activities on a variety of science topics and issues, ProQuest has created more than 40 models. These models can be copied and easily adapted by teachers for their students. ProQuest has created a special BookCart to support student research on this month's theme (Light) titled "Light, Optics, Lasers, and Holograms."

To copy this BookCart to My Local Carts collection:

1. Logon to the eLibrary Science Teacher Edition
   
   
2. Click BookCart Admin just under the Keyword box on the main search page
   
   
3. Select the ProQuest Carts tab
   
   
4. Locate the eLibrary Science--BookCarts folder on the left-hand side of the interface
   
   
5. Click the number 2 at the bottom of the search results and you'll see the "Light, Optics, Lasers, and Holograms" Cart
   
   
6. Click the Copy icon to the right of this Cart
   
   
7. Return to My Local Carts
   
   
8. Look for "Copy of Light, Optics, Lasers, and Holograms"
   
   
9. Click the title to open the BookCart
   
   
10. Type your name in the Author boxes
    
    
11. Delete "Copy of"
    
    
12. Save your new BookCart

This BookCart contains a variety of essential questions for critical thinking to guide and challenge students to create reports that require multiple resources, analysis, synthesis, and reasoned original thought. Students should be assigned at least two essential questions and cite at least three resources in a written report of 150-200 words. Here is a model for those reports.

With so much to cover in AP and IB courses, students and teachers need to minimize the time spent searching and evaluating results for relevancy and authority. This is how eLibrary Science BookCarts help create more time for learning by minimizing the time necessary to get great and student-appropriate results.